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The Dow component that led the way higher today was Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ), which sported a $1.37 gain (+2.8%) bringing the stock to $50.91. Holding the Dow back today was International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM), which lagged the broader Dow index with a $2.52 decline (-1.2%) bringing the stock to $207.15.

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ( ^DJI) closed down 81.0 points (-0.6%) at 14,537. During the day, 714.1 million shares of the 30 Dow components have changed hands vs. an average daily trading volume of 591.4 million. The NYSE advances/declines ratio closed at 1,316 issues advancing vs. 1,656 declining with 136 unchanged.

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The Dow component that led the way higher today was Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), which sported a $1.37 gain (+2.8%) bringing the stock to $50.91. Volume for Verizon Communications ended the day at 18.1 million shares traded vs. an average daily trading volume of 14 million shares.

Verizon Communications has a market cap of $146.33 billion and is part of the technology sector and telecommunications industry. Shares are up 14.5% year to date as of Wednesday's close. The stock's dividend yield sits at 4.1%.

Verizon Communications Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides communications, information and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental agencies worldwide. The company has a P/E ratio of 162.8, above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7.

TheStreet Ratings rates Verizon Communications as a hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, expanding profit margins and solid stock price performance. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including deteriorating net income, generally higher debt management risk and disappointing return on equity.

Holding the Dow back today was International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM), which lagged the broader Dow index with a $2.52 decline (-1.2%) bringing the stock to $207.15. This single loss lowered the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 19.07 points or roughly accounting for 23.5% of the Dow's overall loss. Volume for International Business Machines ended the day at 4.9 million shares traded vs. an average daily trading volume of 3.7 million shares.

International Business Machines has a market cap of $236.28 billion and is part of the technology sector and computer hardware industry. Shares are up 9.5% year to date as of Wednesday's close. The stock's dividend yield sits at 1.6%.

International Business Machines Corporation provides information technology (IT) products and services worldwide. The company operates in five segments: Global Technology Services, Global Business Services, Software, Systems and Technology, and Global Financing. The company has a P/E ratio of 14.8, below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7.

TheStreet Ratings rates International Business Machines as a buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its growth in earnings per share, increase in net income, notable return on equity, expanding profit margins and increase in stock price during the past year. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had generally high debt management risk by most measures that we evaluated.